President Trump began his second term by issuing a barrage of executive orders, memoranda, and other directives, many of which targeted U.S. energy policy and the federal employees who implement it. Trump had campaigned on...more
1/24/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Offshore Wind ,
Paris Agreement ,
Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Wind Power
On January 15, 2025, Department of Energy (DOE) released updated versions of the 45VH2-GREET lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions model and accompanying instructional manual. The updates are crucial to the Inflation...more
1/17/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Methane ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Renewable Energy ,
Renewable Fuel ,
Tax Credits
Over a year since Treasury released proposed rules—after thousands of public comments and various hearings, think pieces, whitepapers, Op-Eds, and, yes, even TV commercials—on January 3, 2025, Treasury finalized rules for...more
In this Issue: Mission is Market -
As with many, we in the Foley Hoag energy and climate practice have felt the results of the 2024 election reverberate through our industry. We’ve gathered and digested the most current...more
12/20/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Charging Stations ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy-Efficiency Tax Credits ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Funding ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
After months of waiting to see how federal regulators might advance clean hydrogen tax policy in the runup to and following the November election, we are finally getting some news:
Several outlets are reporting that the...more
The IRA created substantial tax credits for SAF. Under Section 40B, SAF producers who meet certain requirements can claim a credit of at least $1.25 per gallon of SAF. Among other things, eligible SAF must achieve lifecycle...more
5/3/2024
/ Biofuel ,
Clean Fuels Program (CFP) ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
U.S. Treasury
On April 10, 2024, Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (collectively, “IRS”) issued further guidance on the “Provisional Emission Rate” or “PER” process for the Inflation Reduction Act’s (“IRA”) Hydrogen...more
4/12/2024
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Code ,
U.S. Treasury
On December 15, 2023, IRS published Notice 2024-06, a brief but important guidance on Section 40B, the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”). The guidance establishes a safe harbor...more
12/21/2023
/ Biofuel ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Tax Incentives ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability
This morning, the Department of Energy decided how it will allocate up to $7 billion of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BIL”) funding set aside for establishing regional Hydrogen Hubs....more
The Department of Energy (“DOE”) held a webinar on Friday, August 18, 2023 on the U.S. government’s national hydrogen strategy. The main announcement was the formation of the Hydrogen Interagency Taskforce, or “HIT,” but the...more
On July 28, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations governing how federal agencies review the environmental effects of major federal...more
8/3/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process
[This is the fifth post in our Hydrogen Blog Series...]
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law appropriated $8 billion for developing Hydrogen Hubs—regional networks to produce, distribute, and use clean hydrogen to curb...more
After weeks of hints and leaks, yesterday morning (May 11, 2023), EPA proposed a new rule regulating emissions from power plants. The proposed rule would apply to new and existing gas plants and existing coal plants—new coal...more
5/12/2023
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Rules ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements
It’s a well-worn cliché that siting clean energy projects in Massachusetts is difficult. The statutes, regulations, and permitting processes intended to protect the Commonwealth’s environment and communities can also slow...more
On April 12, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new pollutant emissions standards for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles and heavy duty vehicles. The proposed rules set new, aggressive greenhouse gas...more
We’re launching this blog series to help readers keep pace with the fast-moving world of clean hydrogen. Each week or so we’ll post an article on different legal, regulatory, and technical opportunities and challenges facing...more
The new year brings new NEPA (interim) guidance on climate change. It recommends several ways that federal agencies should consider climate change impacts for projects subject to NEPA review. The guidance is effective...more
On December 1, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a sweeping new rule for the Renewable Fuel Standards (“RFS”) Program, the federal government’s flagship program for facilitating the production of...more
The Supreme Court decided West Virginia v. EPA on Thursday, June 30, 2022, curbing the power of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants across the country. The...more
This is the second post in our series on the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, covering how the Act invests in strengthening our electric grid, which could better prepare us for the shift from fossil...more